Thoughts on culture and events by author and illustrator Christopher R Taylor

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

A MODEST VICTORY, or, THE MODERATE MANDATE

"What is a moderate interpretation of the text? Halfway between what it really means and what you'd like it to mean?"-Antonin Scalia

Although I still fear somehow it will happen I do not see any reasonable scenario by which President Obama enjoys reelection to the presidency. We'll see come November, but if Mitt Romney wins the presidency as I expect, I hope its not by too much.

I want to see Romney win, but only by a modest margin of victory. I want a win wide enough that the "disenfranchised recount the votes Diebold!!!!" crowd can't get any traction, but not too wide. I do understand the desire to see Obama defeated in a massive landslide. If this were another candidate, say Ryan himself or some other conservative, I'd be all for a 50-state shellacking by 15% of the popular vote. I get the wish for having the socialist idiots in congress and the White House beaten by such a titanic margin that people give up the idea of leftist economic policy for another 70 years and the talking heads in the legacy media are put on suicide watch.

The problem is, a landslide victory for Romney would send the wrong message to the Republican Party. What they'd get out of such a victory is not "wow, Americans must have really despised what the Democrats were doing" but "see, Moderates work, we need more moderation in our moderitude with moderization on the side of a big helping of moderizing." For fifty years the GOP would insist that 2012 proved conservatism is poison and the American people want moderates, moderates everywhere.

When the newly elected Romney got to the White House the continual refrain would be moderation. The ACA? We can't just scrap that, it would be too radical. Take the moderate path, modify it slightly and keep it. Fast & Furious? It would be extreme and partisan to dig into that, let sleeping dogs lie. All those executive orders? Only a radial would reverse them, leave them as is, because we need to act in moderation; perhaps just a few minor changes. On and on.

And the legacy media would pick up on this in less than a heartbeat. Clearly, the will of the people, the overwhelming mandate is for moderation, for the middle path, to be cautious in change. Don't change what Obama and the Democrats did, that would be immoderate. Leave everything in place, Republicans, or you're not being moderate and the people demanded moderation. Oh we're going to get that anyway, you can be absolutely certain that the legacy media will cry "changing anything back is radical extremist evil!" But they'll have a stronger case with a landslide.

So I want a win, but not a big one. A win big enough that nobody ties it up in court and with recounts, but not so big that the "moderate mandate" theme gets any real traction. Just enough to send a message: Americans don't care for what you did.

As for congress? I want a tide of red tea to crash over that place and wash it entirely out by gigantic margins. I want long-term congressmen of both parties defeated by so much they hide from the public the rest of their lives. But if Romney wins, lets avoid that.